NEW YORK – An esteemed town native whose name adorns the Burrillville High School gymnasium recently received the Naval War College Foundation’s highest honor.
Vice Admiral Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. received the 2025 Sentinel of the Sea Award at a gala held in his honor at the New York Yacht Club in New York City.
Carter was born in Pascoag and graduated from BHS in 1977. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. and would later return to serve as the institution’s 62nd Superintendent.
He served 38 years in the U.S. Navy and was named a Top Gun pilot in 1985. Carter would amass more than 6,300 flight hours, earning the national record for carrier-arrested landings, the Distinguished Flying Cross with distinction for valor, and the Bronze Star.
As the 54th President of the U.S. Naval War College, Carter led numerous initiatives, including the launch of the Advanced Studies in Naval Strategy Program, strengthening the College’s academic and strategic mission, noted the NWCF in announcing the award.
Carter also led Navy-wide leadership and ethics training, founding the Naval Leadership and Ethics Center at Naval Station Newport.
“His white paper, Ethics in the Navy, influenced ethical discourse across the Navy and joint forces,” noted NWCF.
He also commanded the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and was the Carrier Strike Group Commander on the final deployment of the USS Enterprise in 2012.
Carter became president of the University of Nebraska in 2020 and in 2022, he was awarded the U.S. Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award, that institution’s highest honor.
He’s been inducted into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame and the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Carter was the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony for the BHS Class of 2020 and in 2023, the school gymnasium at was rededicated in his name.
Since January 2024, he has served as the 17th President of The Ohio State University.
Carter also serves on national leadership boards including American Council on Education, Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors and U.S. Council on Competitiveness.
The Sentinel of the Sea Award recognizes distinguished American citizens whose lives and service embody the core values of the USNWC and the Navy’s motto, “Not for Self but Country.“
“I’m deeply humbled and grateful to the Naval War College Foundation for this extraordinary honor,” Carter said following an announcement of the award. “To be mentioned alongside the distinguished Americans who have previously received this award is an honor in itself. I have always believed that each of us has an opportunity to answer the call of service before self, and I have strived throughout my life and career to uphold those values. To have been part of the work and mission of the U.S. Naval War College is a great privilege—one whose lessons in leadership and service I will carry forever.”
Carter and his wife Lynda Kohlehepp Carter, have two adult children, Christopher and Brittany.
Well deserved, for sure.
Admiral Carter was also the keynote speaker at the ceremony dedicating the bridge on 102 to PFCs James Blanchard and Allan McCutcheon a few years ago. What a career of service! Congratulations Admiral Carter.